PECASE: Mechanically Robust Micromechanisms

这个职业项目采用了以开发机械坚固的三维机械为中心的综合研究和教育战略。通过利用硅基制造的最新发展，一种并行制造机械坚固的空间微机构的新方法已经成为可行的。这种尺寸从几微米到几毫米的微观机制，独特地能够将宏观作用力和扰动与精确的微观运动相结合。这一努力代表了一种以开发机械坚固的硅微机械为中心的综合研究和教育战略。这项工作的研究部分侧重于对硅微机械制造中涉及的制造和设计问题有一个基本的理解。新的MEMS加工技术将被用于研究硅微机械的设计、电路集成、微驱动和封装。将解决系统级问题，包括使用聚焦离子束制造的VLSI和MEMS集成、供电和传感技术、片上热微驱动、片上反馈位置控制以及制造设备的封装。这项工作的教育部分将把以研究为基础的教育与工业推广计划结合起来。具体任务包括本科和研究生水平的MEMS课程，关于微制造的工业短期课程，以及多用户微机械铸造服务。空间硅微机械支撑技术的发展代表着MEMS领域的重大进步。具有六个自由度的微机构在技术上是可行的，与传统设备相比，允许极大地扩展设计空间。潜在的应用包括微型机器人、高精度医疗工具和用于微型制造的大位移执行器阵列。这项研究有望拓展目前MEMS的设计空间，为微机械设计和制造技术做出根本性的贡献。

This CAREER project adopts an integrated research and education strategy centered on the development of mechanically robust three-dimensional mechanisms. By taking advantage of recent developments in silicon-based fabrication, a new approach to the parallel manufacture of mechanically robust spatial micromechanisms has become feasible. Such micromechanisms, with dimensions ranging from several microns to several millimeters, are uniquely capable of coupling macro-scale forces and disturbances to precise micro-scale motions. This effort represents an integrated research and education strategy centered around the development of mechanically robust silicon micromechanisms. The research component of this work focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the manufacturing and design issues involved in silicon micromechanism fabrication. Novel MEMS processing techniques will be employed to study the design, circuit integration, microactuation, and packaging of silicon micromechanisms. Systems-level issues will be addressed, including VLSI and MEMS integration using focused ion beam manufacturing, powering and sensing techniques, on-chip thermal microactuation, on-chip feedback position control, and packaging of fabricated devices. The educational component of this work will combine research-based education with an industrial outreach program. Specific tasks include undergraduate and graduate-level MEMS courses, an industrial short course on microfabrication, and a multi-user micromechanism foundry service. The development of supporting technologies for spatial silicon micromechanisms represents a significant advance in the field of MEMS. Micromechanisms with six degrees-of-freedom are feasible in the technology, allowing for a greatly extended design space compared to traditional devices. Potential applications include miniature robotics, high-precision medical tools, and arrays of large-displacement actuators for micro-scale manufacturing. The research is expected to extend the current design space for MEMS, and to contribute fundamental advances to micromechanism design and fabrication technology.